With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty Technology free essay sample

On a smaller scale, many technologies create distractions In everyday life that harm productivity. Advanced technology in business, law enforcement, and the medical field has made the world a less secure place to live. Although technology has shortened the time in which it takes and employer to communicate with an employee, business technology also yields many downfalls. First of all, digital communication between co-workers about a project may prove to be unreliable because lack of face to face communication can cause misinterpretation of Ideas and thought processes.In example, electronic mall messages contain words with no context to emotion. An employee who receives a message will interpret the message according to his personal Judgment, without regard to how the sender intended it to be interpreted. Lack of face to face communication diminishes the ability to pick up on visual cues, which increases the probability of disputes among workers. Additionally, technology In the workplace can create a distraction from the business (Morley). We will write a custom essay sample on With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilty: Technology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Advancements In phones allow Individuals to play games and use social media anywhere quickly and with ease. Such advancements become problems when tasks are not completed in the allotted amount of time and employers lose profits or products (Morley). Also, with faster and easier communication, private company information can be easily shared or given out to the public without official consent. Information that is supposed to remain private can eventually lead to lawsuits for all parties Involved.Continuing, any Information on a database can be hacked and changed in a matter of minutes (Velvet). In Jobs that do not require brainstorming or human Interaction, companies are ruining to robots to complete tasks in factories or, more recently, to act as pharmacists, lawyers, drivers, astronauts, store clerks, babysitters, rescuers, and sportswriters (Aquinas). Using robots has numerous advantages such as increased productivity and little cost to the employer after installation.However, downfalls such as massive unemployment to the human race and increased pollution will occur once robots are put Into place. Business technology can be beneficial If used correctly, but more times than not technology causes more stress and distraction to the working environment. With advancements in technology, the United States has an increased ability to track enemies and use satellite imagery to make attack plans in foreign fields. However, the united States enemies also have the same ability (Goodman). Instead and night vision goggles to carry out their tasks. In one instance, terrorists used search engines To identify individual hostages and to determine Who should live or and who should die (Goodman). In recent years, terrorists have been looking through social media sites and news broadcasts in order to threaten the lives of more villains after initial attacks (Goodman). Within North America, drug dealers were using cell phones and their own radio communications to communicate with cartels before it was popular for the mainstream population to do so (Goodman).Although advanced, law enforcement agencies are slow at catching new kinds of crime because they are trained to look for other abuses of the law. By using advancements in technology, criminals abroad and at home are able to carry out their tasks in a short amount of time with little intervention from the law. Medicinal technologies have helped us treat cancer and other diseases. However, many ill side effects have come from technology. DNA can now be sent to computers and the molecular compounds can be printed in a virtual printer. Marc Goldman, global security adviser, reveals that DNA is like a computer operating system that can be hacked by criminals. Such hackings could change viruses and diseases like HON. into resistant strains that could harm the entire population of the world. Additionally, advancements in medicine have already lead to resistant strains of viruses and pathogens that effect humans food. For example, in 2012, there were at east 12 outbreaks of salmonella tainted food and in previous years many outbreaks have been associated with major fast food chains (CDC).Also, advancements in food have made it easier to store food for long amounts of time. Fast food companies have developed a process that enables meat to be kept for a longer amount of time without spoilage. However, by changing the compounds of a substance, this long lasting food has little nutritional value. One third of all Americans are obese (Food). When the economy is on a downward slope, people start making decisions about none and food is generally the first cut back.Generally, packaged processed food is cheaper to buy than fresh fruits and vegetables because it can be mass produced. It makes sense to say that if money is tight, that family or group of people is more likely to become obese because of their unhealthy diet (Food). The negative effects of technological advancements in business, law enforcement, and food all combine to make the world a less secure place to live. The whole system is a cause and effect wave that can potentially hurt any society or country that falls victim to it.

Pros and Cons of Homeschooling for Military Families

Pros and Cons of Homeschooling for Military Families With military families changing duty stations an average of six to nine times over a 20-year career, homeschooling has a distinct appeal. Ensuring that military kids get a high-quality education can be challenging. It’s no secret that states may have discrepancies in educational requirements (though Common Core serves to narrow these gaps) and this can lead to gaps or repetition in a child’s education. While there are programs in place to help children keep consistency in their academic journey, there are no guarantees. As a result, some military families end up thinking about whether part-time or full-time homeschooling might provide a workable solution.   Parents considering making the switch to homeschooling should consider the pros and cons of this form of education before leaving traditional schooling behind. Homeschooling Benefits Homeschooling allows children to follow an individualized learning plan. Whether you decide to use a correspondence program or complete your own lesson plans, you can work at a pace that fits your child’s unique learning style. And if your children have different approaches and strengths in school, you can use different curriculum providers for different members of the family. Homeschooling also provides flexibility for families. If youre facing a military move in the middle of the school year, no problem! You decide when â€Å"summer† vacation occurs. You can give your child three one-month breaks throughout the year, a standard three-month summer, or whatever works for your family. To keep the kids on track, give them a book list to read on your travels, and let them prepare a presentation on their favorite. With homeschooling, the curriculum progresses consistently at your child’s unique learning rate, no matter where you are. From Germany to Lewis-McCord, you’re covered on every base! This is a huge benefit for military families. Many home teaching and correspondence programs have online options that allow you to connect to top-tier teaching facilities. Homeschooling Challenges One of the great things about school is the social interactions they allow children to have with peers. Homeschooling a child limits these interactions, but, fortunately, many military bases have activities and camps that allow kids to connect with one another. You can also get involved with a local place of worship or community recreation facility to find opportunities for children to get out of the house and meet new friends. You may also be able to get together with other homeschooling families, which will give the kids an opportunity to socialize or work on team projects. Parents who homeschool also face the challenge of deciding whether theyre equipped to teach their children a variety of subjects. Many people struggle in at least one subject area, and some states have determined that parents should be qualified to teach their children. As a result, they have implemented homeschool parent qualification requirements. Make sure you meet these requirements before you start down the homeschool path. If you struggle in a certain area, a correspondence or distance learning program might make more sense for that subject. If several subjects are difficult for you, homeschooling may not be a good fit for your family at all. It’s all about knowing your own limits and doing what’s best for your children. That said, if there are other homeschooling families nearby, you may be able to rely on other parents’ strengths in areas where you’re a little weaker, and vice versa. Keep in mind that should you be reassigned to a different city, youll likely lose access to these parents. Finally, homeschooling your children may mean they miss out on college scholarships from participating in sports or other extracurricular activities. However, changing duty stations in the middle of high school might have the same effect. To help your teens qualify for college scholarships, you may want to consider enrolling them in community college courses and programs that will demonstrate their initiative and academic ability instead.

Critique paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critique paper - Article Example The article provides the reader with a response from the CEO of Disney to the member of congress, which was meant to ridicule him for not getting his facts straight (Mangu-Ward 1). This paper will criticize the article, and mention some of the crucial aspects the reader needs to note. The author provides sufficient evidence to support the issues raised by the member of congress. This is through direct quotes that are recorded in the article from the member of congress. The author’s thought processes are brought out through the interpretation she offers the reader. This assists in bringing the reader to one conclusion about what goes on in many of the corporations present, but ensuring the reader understands that Disney is not among them. This is done by the author through the evidence the Disney CEO provides about what goes on (Mangu-Ward 1). It is not clear if the author will gain anything through favouring either party. It is; therefore, fair to say that the author was not biased in any way. The overall message from the author is logical because, it brings out what happens in many multi-national corporations, and how they do it. It is through the evidence provided that one can see the application in the real world (Mangu-Ward 1). It is possible for this to happen in today’s society with the advancement in technology. Corporations are guilty of putting their profits above the people’s interests. As a reader, one has to agree with the suggestions put across in the article. Social sites are examples that may assist an individual comprehend the situation better. These sites ask for personal details, and act as a passage for this information. People on social networks need to be wary of the issues that may come up with providing such information. In conclusion, the issue of what happens to privacy once individuals decide to be part of the technological world should be given thought. This may ensure individuals are safe and enjoy

Outcomes in Proffessional Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Outcomes in Proffessional Nursing - Assignment Example However, several global governance and policy issues control the quality and effectiveness of healthcare services in global perspective. Kruk (2010) in the article highlights the entrance of private institutions and multi-stakeholders in the healthcare industry. On the one hand, it has resulted in greater funding and equity availability in global healthcare governance, it has also created gaps in the traditional centralized and currently demanded non-centralized decision making environment at healthcare desk. Latest and complex technologies have facilitated the scope of healthcare service but also rippled the cross-national health markets as focus shifts from local to global health. Increased global disparities among nations gave rise to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in which 189 countries became signatories. With this, eradication of poverty, gender inequality, diseases and supporting countries with vulnerable health systems became the tenets of better health performance. In this regard, the role of entities involved namely private institutions, nurses, government and issues surrounding their functioning like their composition, degree of control and autonomy, training and development and geographical and cultural factors; has been highlighted by Kabene et al. (2006). Healthcare services are marked by professionalism, dedication and expert service and as claimed by the authors, human resources management in this regard should enjoy a strategic position with considerable amount of decision making freedom, decentralized working environment and multifaceted professionals with understanding of finance, marketing and other domains which could help them nurture a culture supporting global health agenda. In the light of above findings, it becomes crystal clear that responsibility and accountability is going to rise in professional nursing practice. Apart from normal care, nurses are now entrusted with

QIP6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

QIP6 - Essay Example Yet this does not mean that humans are doing a positive job in providing food and education for themselves. For example, and from my health promotion class, we studied that when it comes to providing food, humans have started to consume more unhealthy food such as fast food and less healthy food such as fruits and vegetables. This necessarily has a negative impact upon health. To Hispanic and African American citizens in the United States, who mostly live in poorer neighborhoods, the availability of money and access to buy healthy food does not always exist. Moreover, due to the fact that less healthful food is invariably presented at a lower cost, these stakeholders prefer to buy fast food. In addition, the reason why African American and Hispanic are more prone to get heart diseases and diabetes is because most of them feel discriminated by white people and pressured into the lifestyle that they live. Also another reason is that many of them do not have access to health care or hav e health insurance. Moreover, even for those who have health insurance, they have to pay for it while working in a low income job. 4. Health can be categorized as a human security issue when it comes to inequality, exclusion and violence. 5. Health is defined by the World Health Organization as â€Å" (a) complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity†. 6. Gender, environment, wealth, ethnicity and education are determinations of health. 7. In some countries, girls are being discriminated even in health. For example, in many countries the social stigma dictates that girls rarely go to hospitals if they are sick. 9. Gender is the culturally constructed attitude behavior roles that are based on sex and sexual identity. 10. Sex and gender are mostly conflated with each other in some societies. 11. War and militarization have a huge affect on health because of the causes of death, injuries and lack of food and water. 12. The WHO indicated that defined violence is â€Å"the international use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or group or community, that either results in injury, death, psychological harm or deprivation. 13. War’s goal is to harm the enemy’s health in order to make them weaker; which can be effected through weapons and military attacks on the enemy’s land. 15. War can affect women also; as they are oftentimes the victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence which can not only immediately harm them but give them the increased risk of having an STD. 15. The role of the state is to provide human security through prevention, monitoring and anticipating health threats. This can be achieved by providing protection for people and medical care. Also, this can be accomplished by decreasing the use of chemical weapon and any kind of activates that can affect the surrounding environment of the people and risk their health. 16. Violence is a reason why health care system and education failed in some states. 17. Human security and human rights are important to each other as they identify the importance of freedom and basic insecurities. 20. In a globalized economy as the production of arms increases, weapons will easily fall into the hands of the wrong individuals and/or the wrong heads of states. 21. The LOC between India

Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining

Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Melchor Abejon With the increasing use of electronic health records (EHR), data collection in many Health Care Organizations (HCOs) has improved and accumulated at a remarkable pace. EHRs have enabled HCOs to generate and collect a vast amount of data and information from their daily encounter of patients. And this is when Health Informatics (HI) comes into play- to develop and employ computational theories, tools and techniques that can assist in extracting useful information and knowledge from these volumes of data, and use this knowledge to uncover useful patterns and to create models that can enhance decision-making and processes in the healthcare and HI industry. This process is called the Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM). The purpose of this paper is to give an overview on why KDDM is a necessity in the healthcare and HI industry, and also to discuss how the aforementioned technique continues to improve the healthcare and HI industry. Benefits of KDDM in the Healthcare Industry The abundance of data and information in healthcare had made KDDM a necessity. According to Taranu (2015), with the growing rate of data accumulation in HCOs, there is a need for expert analysis of these vast medical data. The ability to use these data in order to extract useful information is a key factor for many health institutions to establish quality healthcare. Listed below are some of the benefits of KDDM in the healthcare industry: Increase in the accuracy of diagnoses. The use of predictive algorithms can help healthcare providers such as the physicians to make diagnosis more accurate and decide for the appropriate treatment for their patients. Prediction of patient population risk. KDDM enables the creation of programs and risk models that can be employed to recognize and detect high-risk patients and chronic diseases. Because of this, healthcare providers are able to design the right clinical intervention for their patients. Reduction in the rate of hospital admissions and readmissions. The creation of algorithm and predictive analytics can enable the identification of patients who are at high risk for hospital admissions, thus enabling providers to design more efficient clinical interventions to better treat their patients. Enhancement of clinical decision support. KDDM enables the comparison of symptoms, causes, treatments and analysis of effective clinical intervention for a group of patients. Prevention of diseases and promotion of general public health. The application of predictive analytics particularly in genomics can aid physicians to recognize their patients who are highly at risk of certain diseases. Also, through predictive analytics, pharmaceutical companies are able to develop drugs that suit the needs for specific groups of people. Better patient-related decisions and patient satisfaction. The identification of usage patterns, preferences and the current and future needs of patients can give information that will assist staff in their interaction with their patients. Patients will also be happy because they will be receiving a treatment that will really work for them. Detection of medical insurance fraud and abuse. The detection of unusual claims patterns can assist insurance companies in the detection of medical insurance fraud and abuse. Benefits of KDDM in the Health Informatics Industry According to Shukla, Patel and Sen (2014), HI can be subdivided into four main subfields which are the (a) clinical care, (b) administration of health services, (c) medical research, and (d) education and training; and that each subfield and can be extended and improved with the application of KDDM. Clinical care. One of the applications of HI in healthcare is in the aspect of clinical decision-making through the implementation of the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS). This computer program is designed to assist healthcare providers in making clinical decisions through (a) information retrieval, (b) alert systems, (c) reminders, (d) suggestion systems, and (e) prediction models. The application of KDDM techniques on the database will render health providers analytical tools and as well as predictive tools that go beyond what is evident from the surface of the data. For example, predictive models can assist physicians to decide whether a certain patient would be treated as inpatient or as an outpatient. Administration of health services. Being an administrator of a healthcare entity can be a very tough job as this position requires daily critical decision making. The quality of information that these critical decisions are based on is an essential factor for this job. The KDDM technique can help in the creation of systems that can predict disease outbreaks, and can give representation of the benefits and the costs of the different preventive measures that are effective against a disease outbreak. Medical research. The application of KDDM is very successful in the medical research. Data mining methods can be applied on the vast medical data to extract useful patterns, predictive scoring systems and cause and effect relationships. Nelson and Staggers (2014, p.56) states KDDM can also be used to patch weaknesses in clinical data that pose a barrier to research. Education and training. E-learning is one of the rapidly growing method of learning in the healthcare and even in the HI industry. The application of KDDM in e-learning can efficiently monitor the progress in the learning process and as well as enhance the learning experience of students, administrators, and educators by recommending different learning methods, resources, and study materials. For educators, it can provide objective feedback about the course and students learning patterns. For administrators, they can learn about the users behavior, so that servers can be optimized and network traffic can be distributed. Through KDDM, the effectiveness of educational programs can be efficiently assessed. Conclusion With the growing accumulation of data in healthcare, no wonder KDDM will continue to be an indispensable tool than can be utilized to extract knowledge and insightful patterns which are essential in the development of systems and models to improve the safety and quality of healthcare. And as the use of health information systems continue to grow, KDDM will continue to mend the weaknesses and imperfections in clinical data to make these data more usable for the benefit of the healthcare and HI industry. References Crockett, D., Johnson, R., Eliason, B. (2014). What is data mining in healthcare? Retrieved January 15, 2017, from https://www.healthcatalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/What-is-data-mining-in-healthcare.pdf Fayyad, U., Shapiro, P., and Smyth, P. (1996). From data mining to knowledge discovering in databases. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/viewFile/1230/1131 Miner, L.A. (2014). Seven ways predictive analytics can improve healthcare. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from https://www.elsevier.com/connect/seven-ways-predictive-analytics-can-improve-healthcare Nelson, R. Staggers, N. (2014). Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach. St. Louis, MO.: Elsevier Mosby Shukla, D.P., Patel, S.P., Sen, A.K. (2014). A literature review in health informatics using data mining techniques. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://ijournals.in/ijshre/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IJSHRE-2220.pdf Taranut, I.(2015). Data mining in healthcare: Decision making and precision. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=0be35910-eda5-4fda-a7c2-1a72f0962ec8%40sessionmgr102vid=2hid=114 The Modeling Agency (2015). How data mining is helping healthcare. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from https://the-modeling-agency.com/how-data-mining-is-helping-healthcare/

The Internets Effects on Reading Essay example -- National Endowment

The Internet's Effects on Reading NEAdites join me in rejoicing at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) report Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America. This report brings into view the dangers of the Internet and foreshadows the impact it and the associated electronic media forms it delivers will have on culture and society. Our only chance is one huge electromagnetic burst that will take it all out from the inside. The act of reading as we traditionally know it is under assault. We must not get caught up in the electronic media and forget that which is important, â€Å"A book must be an ice ax to break the seas frozen inside our souls† is Kafka’s battle cry for reading (Solomon 1994). This quote is echoed by Nomi Schwartz who, like Solomon, draws up sides in her argument in favor of reading. For her, there are those who know the joys of reading, and those who do not but should. There must be two sides to every battle. Don’t rush out to join the NEAdites just yet though, traditional reading of literature may be in decline as statistically shown by the NEA report, the narrow focus of the report however fails to consider that change is continuous and inevitable and that these new forms of media actually have the potential to expand reading and enhance participation in activities associated with culture and the arts. We all have our comfort zones, not surprisingly we are most comfortable with what we known. A stake in the present can rattle change around as a threat to the future. Reports such as this are intriguing because they challenge our safety zone, they bring our fear of change to the surface, prompting us to take action so we don’t loose our sacred now. The NEA report is one of many â€Å"crise du jour... ...st 8). Reading at Risk: Lack of interese in literature is a crisis [Commentary]. Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved August 19, 2004, from ShowMeNews: http://www.showmenews.com/2004/Aug/20040808Comm007.asp United States National Endowment for the Arts. (2004, June). Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literaty Reading in America [Research Division Report #46]. Retrieved September 22, 2004, from National Endowment for the Arts: http://www.nea.gov/news/news04/ReadingAtRisk.html Vegh, S. (2003). Classifying Forms of Online Activism: The Case of Cyberprotests agains the World Bank. In M. McCaughey & M. D. Ayers (Eds.), Cyperactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice (pp. 73-77). New York, NY: Routledge. Wood, P. (2004, July 19). Literature at Risk. National Review Online. Retrieved September 20, 2004, from http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/wood200407190842.asp

Law of Constant Composition Lab Essay

Purpose: To determine the percent magnesium by mass in magnesium oxide and to observe if the percentage composition is constant by comparing class results. Hypothesis/Prediction: The percent composition by mass of magnesium in magnesium oxide will not change significantly with each group that conducted the experiment. The composition of each substance should stay the same and any differences must be due to some error. Materials:Magnesium stripCrucibleCrucible coverClay triangleIron ringRetort standTongsBalanceBunsen burnerProcedure:1.obtained a strip of magnesium between 30-40 cm long2.coiled magnesium strip into a tight roll3.measured the mass of the crucible and cover4.Added the magnesium strip to the crucible and measured the magnesium, crucible and cover together. 5.Partially covered the crucible with the cover and heated it using a Bunsen burner until the magnesium ignited. 6.Turned off Bunsen burner. 7.waited for combustion to proceed8.when the reaction appeared completed, heated the crucible again for another five minutes9.allowed crucible to cool for ten minutes10.measured the mass of the crucible, cover and magnesium oxideObservations:When ignited, the magnesium strip gave off a bright light. There was a colour change on the magnesium. It started out as silver and turned into a white colour. The combustion gave off a distinct odour. The end result was a white powder but some magnesium had been left in its original shape. According to the theory of J.L. Proust, a compound always has the same percentage composition no matter how it is prepared. For all three of our own individual groups trials, we obtained the same percentage composition and this satisfies Prousts theory. This is also accurate with what we have read in the textbook Chemistry 11 on the Law of Definite Proportions on pages 147 150. 2.What conclusion can you make upon the class results?The conclusions I can make based upon the class results are that the composition of a compound must vary because everyone had a different answer. In most cases, the percent composition of magnesium in the compound was very different from what my group achieved. However, sometimes, the classes results were quite similar to my own. The theory that C.M. Berthollet introduced about the composition of a compound was that a compound has an infinite number of compositions depending on the proportions of the components that were used in its preparation. His theory satisfies the results obtained from the whole class. Since every group had a different amount of magnesium they must also have had a different composition of magnesium in the compound formed, magnesium oxide. However, this is inconsistent with what we have been taught and with what is written in the textbook. Since the textbook is a more reliable source of information, I must conclude that the reason for this difference in results may be attributed to error on the part of the students conducting the experiment. 3.Which French Scientist would you tend to support? Explain. The French scientist that I support is J.L. Proust. I agree with Prousts theory because I believe that if the composition of a substance were to change, so would its properties. An obvious example of this is one stated in the textbook: water and hydrogen peroxide. The simple addition of a hydrogen atom to the compound of water can make a liquid that is essential to life become deadly. Since I know that the percent composition of a particular substance is the same no matter where, how or when it is made, I must agree with J.L Proust and support his theory. Sources of ErrorOne reason why a student may have obtained a higher percentage of magnesium than the rest of the class is: during the experiment, mass must have been lost. This could have been done in many ways. Often, the magnesium took too long to ignite and students began to put it straight into the flame to ignite it and then put it back into the crucible. Sometimes, the magnesium wilted and little pieces of it broke off. In addition, the magnesium would sometimes ignite and then extinguish itself. In the constant removal of the magnesium from the crucible, mass was lost in the form of ashes. When mass is lost during the experiment, the total mass of the compound is lower and when the mass of magnesium was divided by the total mass, yielded a higher percent of magnesium. One reason why a student may have obtained a lower percentage of magnesium than the rest of the class is: the magnesium did not properly combust. In many cases, the magnesium would extinguish itself and would not burn completely. This resulted in some white powder, ash, and some magnesium still in the same shape that it was when we began the experiment. This suggests that it did not burn with the rest of the magnesium ribbon and therefore, did not form the compound with oxygen. This would yield in a higher total mass than what it should have been and when the mass of magnesium is divided by the total mass, would give a lower percentage. The following calculation shows the actual percentage of Magnesium in the compound magnesium oxide. Molar mass of MgO = 24.3 + 16.0= 40.3For 1.00 mol of MgO:%Mg = 24.3 / 40.3 x  100= 60.3%Therefore, the actual percentage value of Mg in MgO is 60%The following calculation shows the percentage error for my own groups result% error = (experimental accepted) / accepted x 100= (72 60) / 60 x 100= 20%Therefore the percentage error for my group was 20%. ConclusionBased on the data collected by each group, the composition of a substance must change depending on the proportions of the components that were used in its preparation. However, as explained earlier, the textbook and the properties of matter state otherwise. Scientifically, if the composition of a compound was to change, so would its properties. The results obtained by the class are quite the opposite of what has already been proven by Proust to be true and therefore, I believe that the evidence obtained by our chemistry class is the result of many mistakes and cannot be used to convey the idea of the Law of Constant Composition which states that the composition of a specific compound is constant.

ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) The WritePass Journal

ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Introduction ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) report, the company has experienced a rise in the number of contracts in their portfolio from just under-8 million to over 8.8 million, a 10.9 percent rise. The Management Board Chairman Frank Witter attributes this growth to a 5 percent increase in number of vehicles delivered to more than 9.7 million. The company was also able to attract more customers with their financial services. As a leading financial provider for all things automotive sales within the umbrella of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, the company has developed key strategies to ensure they achieve their mission, which is â€Å"to support the sales of all Volkswagen Group brands worldwide and increase customer loyalty in a sustainable manner along the entire automotive value chain† (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Volkswagen strategy statement is based on â€Å"customer-focus†, â€Å"pioneering† and â€Å"getting things done†. To ensure sustainable growth, the company pursues its strategy in three fronts: brands, markets and products. That is, developing new brands for Volkswagen Group, establishing new markets, and developing new products in existing markets. Volkswagen Financial Services continue to adopt a consistent customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in its customer care. As such, structures of the company and its processes have been aligned with customer groups and their unique requirements (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Johnson et al (2013, p.69) describes strategy as the â€Å"long-term direction of an organisation.† A leading strategy theorist Michael Porter would refer to this as a competitive strategy that seeks to be different from competition, by â€Å"deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value† to the intended consumers (Porter, 1996, p.31). The Volkswagen Financial Services strategy can be considered to be based on what Porter (1996) describes as variety-based and needs-based positioning. However, Volkswagen Financial Services continual pursuance of consistent CRM strategy in customer care led the company to rethink its organisation structure and customer groups as aligned by the customer requirements. In attempt to support this organisational restructuring, the organisation required an IT structure to allow the company have a standard of customer data, standard and continuous process support right from customer support to subsequent processing and transaction execution, integrating existing transaction-related banking system without any additional extensive conversions. In order to meet these requirements, a product and division-oriented IT environment was implemented. Core applications and systems related to transaction-related banking systems where clients’ accounts and contracts could be managed were implemented. The implementations of these applications and systems isolated the various specific client data from each other making an integral view much more complicated and cumbersome. But the company solved this problem when they installed customer-oriented IT architecture in SAP CRM for a standard customer care and SAP NetWeaverTM as a system integration platform. Although Volkswagen Financial Services may have considered this a triumph in its efforts to strengthen their CRM-oriented strategy in customer service, it’s not a unique strategy that can strengthen their competitive advantage given its ease of adoption by competitors or new entrants. Le Pest C for Volkswagen Financials Services In order to comprehensively understand Volkswagen Financial Services strategic capabilities, it is significant to use the Le Pest C model (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002): LePestC Possible Issues at VW FS (UK) Legal Data security and privacy legislations and legal challenges Economic Low profitability due to decreased consumer spending power and inability to expand to emerging markets Political VW Financial Services AG, which inevitable controls its strategic decisions making process Environment/Ecologic Environmental pressure from regulatory authorities Social Change of consumer preferences, e.g. study shows that more consumers in Europe prefer to travel via train rather than personal cars Technological New technology that are likely to render the current ones obsolete and requires upgrade regularly Competitiveness Competition from financial companies and other auto dealers Legal: Data security and privacy have become serious challenges to many businesses, raising concerns with rise in big data and cloud computing initiatives. Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services Company collect and store highly confidential and sensitive customer data that may be at risk from data breaches. It must be noted that the company is networked not only internally but also externally through internet or other telecommunication connectivity. As such, the company needs to have a robust information security practices not only well documented in the form of information security policies but also ensure strict adherence to ethical standards to avoid legal suits. Moreover, the company needs to develop internal ethical standards in line with their business principles and treat it as part and parcel of the CRM strategies (Barreto, 2010). In case the company wants to use big data, it must strive to develop policy that informs the clients in advance to agree or disagree wit h such plans. Failure to develop such policies may attract legal suits from clients disputing the use of their personal data. The outcome of legal suits may be extremely costly to the company in terms of legal fees, unfavourable strict government regulations and reputation damage. Economic: Volkswagen Financial Services Company has experience the challenges associated with the economic financial crisis that started at the onset of 2008. Although the company considers rise in sales and number of client subscribed in the latest reports, the reduced disposable income is likely to affect the company negatively in the long run, given financial challenges affecting its major European market. Environmental/ Ecological: Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services face various challenges in maintaining extra-regulatory compliance with contractual clauses. Some of these clauses often require them to certify that the car parts of sale are free of asbestos, lead paint, chromium, and blood minerals among other banned elements (Mintzberg, et al., 2002). These regulatory compliance requirements are meant to ensure sustainability and protection of environment. Issues such as greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and waste management increases cost of production. Socio-cultural: Studies have shown that public transport in Europe is becoming more popular than passenger cars (Tyrinopoulos and Antoniou, 2013). This kind of finding may suggest that the change in trend is more associated with change in social preference. More significantly, the company has not managed to break into Chinese among other emerging markets with its financial services considering that Chinese consumers are cash-buyers rather than credit buyers, as noted by the company’s 2013 Annual Report. This cultural barrier has affected the company’s financial front in terms of sales return. Technological: there are technological challenges associated with auto and financial industries. The challenge with technology is that it changes every day, with new ideas propping up that may provide fast-moving competitors with better competitive advantage (Maritan and Brush, 2003). VW FS (UK) is one of the companies in this sector that suffers from the technological challenges. Competitive: competition from other auto suppliers is real. Although the company has gained competitive advantage with multi-brand CRM, there is likelihood that their major competitors will do the same. Strategic Capabilities of Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Strategic capabilities of a firm are those capabilities that lead to a competitive advantage. Mintzberg, et al. (2002) defines strategic Resources and competencies as the two components that define resource capability. Further, resources are those assets that an organisation own or can call upon to aid their progress. Competencies are the ability to deploy those resources effectively or to make use of the available resources to achieve a certain goal (Teece, 2007). In others words, resources are what is available and competencies are the ability to use these resources. Table: Representation of strategic capability of Volkswagen Financial Services Resources Competencies Machines, raw materials, products, patents, database, computer systems Physical The company has the means to achieve utilisation of plant, efficiency, productivity, flexibility, marketing Balance sheet, cash flow, revenue Financial That company has the means to raise funds and manage cash flow, debtors, creditors, etc. Managers, employees, partners, suppliers, customers Human The company has experience, skills, knowledge, and ability to build relationships, motivate others and innovate. However, it’s yet to exploit this ability to the maximum. (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002). If fully used, the above representation would lead to long term survival of VW FS, and subsequently strengthen their competitive advantage. Although the strategic capabilities should be dynamic enough, there is a clear indication that Volkswagen Financial Services’ is not as dynamic as required. The company should be able to recreate and renew its strategic capabilities according to the changing business environment. For example, while tangible assets, cost control, and quality maintenance are important capabilities that the company has embraced, there are more long term capabilities such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring that are significant Using innovation to spur entrepreneurship Innovation and entrepreneurship is about creating the new- both new products and services and new business models and organisations (Johnson, et al., 2013). Creating value for firms and customers, innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental to today’s highly competitive economies. But the decision to innovate and pursue new market leads through innovation can be a hard choice for organisations as has been demonstrated by Volkswagen Financial Services’ attempts to enter Chinese market. The company ought to have asked various fundamental questions such as: Will it be appropriate if they too pioneer in new technologies or rather be a fast follower (timing and relationship)? innovation dilemma How should they react to radical innovations that threaten to destroy its existing revenues? In such a highly competitive industry, entrepreneurship is a significant aspect of any business. In other words, entrepreneurship is fundamental aspect of any business that wants to keep up with the changing business environment. It’s entrepreneurship that drives innovation. Innovation dilemma However there are innovation dilemmas that may affect a firm’s decision-making process. Many corporations face strategic dilemma on whether to innovate or note. Johnson et al. (2013,p. 239) describes innovation as the process of converting new knowledge into a new product, process or service and the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use. Another aspect of innovation dilemma facing VW FS is whether to adopt open or closed innovation. Porter (1996) describes open innovation as the process of deliberate importation and exportation of knowledge by a firm in their attempt to speed up and intensify innovation. Open innovation advocates for open exchange of ideas for quick better products to keep ahead of competition. Closed innovation is based on a firms insistence on making every innovative ideas internal, keeping everything secret from outside people. Volkswagen Financial Services Company seems to focus on closed innovation, which inevitably limits their ability to source for ideas. There is likelihood that this limits their ability to attract external skills or innovative ideas. Technological or business model innovation Most successful and progressive innovative activities do not necessarily rely on the latest or new science or technology, but involve reorganizing into new business by combining every aspect of a business (Johnson et al., 2013). A business model describes how an organisation manages incomes and costs through the structural arrangements of its activities. For example, when Ryanair decided to adopt the ultra cheap airline tickets, its business model innovation involved the generation of revenues via direct sales through the internet, thereby cutting out intermediary travel agents, while also using cheap secondary airports. Cheap airports and internet sales proved more significant than technological innovation. There are various ways of analysing a business model innovation, including the use of value chain, value net or activity network frameworks (Johnson et al., 2013). Typically, these frameworks are meant to direct managers and entrepreneurs to two primary frameworks for potential innovations: The product a new business model may redefine what the product or service is and how it is produced. This concerns technology in relation to the value chain. The selling a new business model may change how an organisation generates its revenue, with implications for selling and distribution. In the perspective of Volkswagen FS, the company’s value chain in terms of emerging markets has not picked up as anticipated. The emerging markets, unlike the developed markets are generally cash buyers. The company may consider using instalments payment model to establish its value chain within the emerging markets like China and India, with attractive product packages targeting the growing middle class consumers in these countries. Innovators and followers There are those who choose to lead innovations and those who follow. Barreto (2010) argue that firsts of first-movers who have succeeded in this line are Coca Cola in soft drinks and Hoover in vacuum cleaners. However, there are many first-movers that have failed such as the powerful Microsoft which failed with its tablet computer launch in 2001. Nine years later, Apple swept the market with its iPad tablet computer. First-mover advantages and disadvantages First-movers are generally temporary monopolies. Their advantage exists where they appear better off than their competitors as a result of being first to market with a new product, process or service (Teece, 2009; Teece, 2007). There are five potentially more robust first-movers advantage: They can build on experience in a market and benefit from the accrued market knowledge and skills; They can scale faster and enjoy the early benefits; They have the opportunity for pre-emption of scarce resources; They can build early reputation, particularly because consumers have little ‘mind-space’ to recognise new brands that follows; They can exploit the buyer switching costs, by ensuring that their customers are locked with privileged or sticky relationships that later challengers may find too costly to adopt (Teece, 2009) However, Mintzberg (2002) observe that there are disadvantages for being first-movers as seen with Microsoft’s earlier failure with tablets. First is the free-riding factor. Late movers may find it easy to imitate first mover’s technology and other innovations at less expense than originally incurred by pioneers. Research indicates that the costs of imitation are only 65% of the cost of innovation (Teece, 2009). In addition, late-movers have the ability to learn from the errors made by first-movers, picking on what worked well and avoiding what did not work for their pioneer competitor. In other words, they may not make so many mistakes and be able to get it right first time unlike their pioneer competitor. Should Volkswagen Financial Services be a first or second? Managers and entrepreneurs often find it hard to choose either to be a first-mover or a follower. However, London Business School’s Costas Markides and Paul Geroski argue that the most appropriate response to innovation, especially radical innovation, is often not to be a first mover but to be a ‘fast second’ (Mintzberg, 2002). A first second strategy involves being one of the first to imitate the original innovator. According to Porter (1996) there are three contextual factors to consider in choosing between innovating and imitating: Capacity for profit capture. If a follower can imitate faster and efficiently, it can capture good profits. It’s more effective where the pioneer is not able to define the boundaries for intellectual property; Complementary assets. An organisation in possession of the assets or resources have the ability to scale up the production and marketing of the innovation; Fast-moving arenas. In situations where markets or technologies are moving very fast, and especially where both are highly dynamic, first-movers are unlikely to establish a durable advantage. The incumbent can respond to new entrants into the market by adopting disruptive innovation. As has been shown earlier, disruptive innovation can create substantial growth by offering a new performance trajectory that, even if â€Å"initially inferior to the performance of existing technologies, has the potential to become markedly superior† Winter, 2003). Incumbents can follow two policies to help keep them responsive to potentially disruptive innovation: Develop a portfolio of real options and new venture units. References Barreto, I. (2010). Dynamic capabilities: a review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36 (1): 256-80. Brooks, I. and Weatherston, J. (2002). The Business Environment: Challenges and Changes. NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., and Regner, P. (2013). Exploring Strategy Text Cases. NJ: Pearson Education. Maritan, C.A and Brush, T.H. (2003). Heterogeneity and transferring practices: implementing flow practices in multiple plants. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 945-60. Mintzberg, H.,   Ghoshal, S., Lampel, J., and Quinn, J.B. (2002) â€Å"The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases†,4th Edition, Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (1996) â€Å"What is Strategy?†, Harvard Business Review, November- December: 61-78. Tyrinopoulos, Y. and Antoniou, C. (2013) Factors affecting modal choice in urban mobility. European Transport Research Review. 5 (1). pp. 27-39. Teece, D.J. (2009). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic management- organising for innovation and growth, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Teece, D.J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28 (1): 1319-50. VW FS Annual Report (2013). Volkswagen Financial Services AG: The key to mobility. Winter, S.G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 991-5.

Down These Mean Streets essays

Down These Mean Streets essays Down These Mean Streets, an autobiography by Piri Thomas is about a boys journey to manhood on the mean streets of New Yorks Spanish Harlem. While growing up in Harlem, Piri adopted an attitude, which was both hot-tempered and violent. In the end, this personality flaw almost cost him everything, including his life. Whenever Piri faced a problem, he would become angry and resort to viloence. There are many instances where he does this, one in particular is when he is a young teenager and is going to school. The teacher wouldnt let him go to the bathroom and when she grabbed his shirt to stop him from walking out of her class, his shirt ripped. Realizing that she had ripped his shirt he turned around and not thinking of her as a woman, but as something that had to be hit, he punched her in the face. His quick-temper caused him to hit a woman, which shows that he isnt one to think things out and then act in a peaceful manner. Another example of Piris anger happened when he got into an argument with his girlfriend. After a party he walked her home and they got into a verbal fight. When the tensions rose and he couldnt control his anger anymore, he sent his fist through a window which wound him up in the hospital. The most signifficant example of Piris aggression was when he was twenty-two . He and two other people were robbing a nightclub. Piri was guarding the door when a cop from inside pulled his gun and shot him, not thinking of consequences, Piri returned fire. He had shot and almost killed the police officer, earning him a five to fifteen year prison sentence. Eventhough it was Piris personality flaw, it affected many if not all of the people around him. When he chose to solve his problems through violence, it affected the people that he fought, and it affected his family and friends when they had to witness it and then lose him to jail for six years. ...

Absorptive Capacity And How Can This Be Used Within Supply Chain Essay

Absorptive Capacity And How Can This Be Used Within Supply Chain Management To Increase Supply Chain Profitability And Responsiveness - Essay Example 317; Boisot, 1998, p. 10; Boer, Bosch, van den, & Volberda, 1999, p. 379) To increase this absorptive capacity, companies often undertake research studies to improve their prospects and to customize their research and development to make information genuinely helpful for the organization’s human resource and for business operational use. The data generated from research are targeted to be integrated in the operation services and in the production of goods for consumers to attain effective and efficient corporate performance (Calori, Johnson, & Sarnin, 1994, p. 437; Camerer & Vepsalainen, 1998, p. 115; Carlsson & Jacobsson, 1994, p. 235; Cohen & Levinthal, 1994, p. 227) Experts opined that absorptive capacity is aimed at adopting ideas to develop an innovative and bring about new engagement sparked by changing economy. The process includes the integration of information to maximize meaningful findings for organizational development and management decision-makings (Deeds, 2001, p. 29; Cohen & Levinthal, 1997, p. 1463).... The researcher will make use of secondary materials from peer-reviewed journals and books sourced from online and public library to substantiate the subject of this study. Researcher will likewise correlate the absorptive capacity of a company’s interest to leverage from its market competitors and delve into the critical effects of company’s absorptive capacity on product innovation, business operations, and profit maximization using the lens of knowledge-based view (KBV) as theoretical foundation. Figure 1. Supply chain leadership and its correlation to resource values and organizational absorptive capacity (Sharif & Irani, 2012, p. 57). Research and Knowledge Management Organizational development and its level of competitiveness are reliant not only on financial capital, human resources and strategic management but also of its absorptive capacity (Rebolledo, Halley & Nagati, 2009, p. 52). Knowledge, through its research and management, are major source of valuable, ra re, and inimitable information to enhance strategic business management, improve customer-relation, expand business operation and sustain good relation with its suppliers (Rebolledo, et al., 2009, p. 53). The absorptive capacity of the organization will also facilitate the alignment of its human resources, corporate performance, and in enhancing its structures to align these with corporate strategies. Internally, it can also promote effective organizational management, increase marketing results, and reduce the impairment of supply chain relations. Through this part, an emphasis on the differences between the two facets of absorptive capacity will be highlighted: potential absorptive capacity that involves the corporate’s acquisition and assimilation of external

Analyze the behavior style of the participants in both group and Term Paper

Analyze the behavior style of the participants in both group and individual situations.(CBS reality show Survivor) - Term Paper Example It is the most commonly used test for personality worldwide. It classifies individuals according to four dichotomies i.e. extroverts vs. introverts, sensing vs. intuitive, thinking vs. feeling and judging vs. perceiving (McShane & Von Glinow, 2015). Shirin can be described as an extrovert because she is very social. In an interview, she admits that she prefers making relationships based on friendship (Holmes, 2015). Shirin is also a sensitive person. Her background career as a product manager shows that she prefers having practical solutions rather than relying on intuition. Her character in the reality show also echoes the same about her. She can also be classified as a thinking rather than feeling person. People who fit into the feeling character are usually guided by their emotions rather than logic and reason. Being emotional is a character that she evidently thinks is not suitable for anyone with a role in the show (Holmes, 2015). However, she can be classified as a perceiving person. Perceiving people are spontaneous and easily adapt to change. Her personality as seen in the show as well as her character outside the show portrays her as a person who is flexible enough to make changes when necessary. The model proposes that human personality can be classified broadly into five dimensions. A lot of research has also showed that the model is effective in predicting the performance of an individual in the workplace (Barrick & Mount, 1991). The five factors are openness, emotional stability, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Under each factor is a list of related behavior and qualities that can describe the person. In the case of Shirin Oskool, we can conclude that personality fits in the extroversion category. Extroverts are usually outgoing people and mostly derive their energy from external sources (Laney, 2002). Also, they tend to be enthusiastic, energy-oriented, and possess high group visibility and like to talk.